Water Summary Update: Extra precipitation at start of year helps improve drought conditions

DES MOINES — The normally dry months of January and February produced more than 2.5 inches of moisture this year, enough to continue improvement in drought conditions across much of the state, according to the latest Water Summary Update from the Iowa DNR.

However, there remains an area of concern in southeast Iowa, where the drought monitor shows about 10 percent of the state in a condition of moderate drought.

Tim Hall, Hydrology Resources Coordinator for the Iowa, DNR indicates that "some parts of southeast Iowa are short more than 20 inches of rainfall over the past two years."

Streamflow has increased to normal over most of Iowa, and shallow groundwater conditions are improving.

The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.